WA health warn young people to sexually stay safe as end-of-year school celebrations come about

ABC NEWS (Australia)

As thousands of teenagers head to the Southwest for Leavers celebrations. WA health authorities are warning young people to stay safe, especially when it comes to sexual health.  It comes as recent health data reveals a surge in sexually transmitted infections like chlamydia, affecting teenagers across WA.

Transcript

00:00It's the topic some teenagers say is still uncomfortable to talk about.

00:07I wouldn't say it's something that would usually get brought up amongst the boys.

00:10People hate talking about that stuff I think.

00:12It's a bit hard to take it seriously because everyone's always laughing in class and stuff.

00:15None of us have gotten one to my knowledge.

00:18But WA Health is urging those embarking on end of year leavers celebrations next week

00:24to take care when it comes to their sexual health,

00:27as statistics show an alarming trend.

00:30The main STIs in WA would be chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis.

00:34But if we're talking about for young people aged 15 to 19,

00:38chlamydia is the most common STI.

00:41Cases of gonorrhea reached a decade high last year with more than 5,000 cases reported.

00:47The Department of Health now launching a social media campaign in response to the numbers.

00:53Packing for leavers, just wear this every day and pack condoms.

00:57A move welcomed by teens, some who say there's still not enough information available.

01:03I feel like not a lot of kids are, you know, really educated on it.

01:08So, yeah, it needs to be bigger in schools, I feel like, and just everywhere.

01:11Having more posters about it and definitely more, like, on the leavers page even.

01:16Like, make sure you're being safe because this could happen.

01:20The advice to parents...

01:22It's a really good opportunity to have that conversation

01:25to keep your children and your young people safe

01:29and make sure that whatever they do, they're doing it with their eyes open

01:33and they're doing it with good judgement.

01:35With thousands of teens expected to descend on Dunsborough for leavers,

01:39WA Health is urging young people to take care of themselves,

01:42including using contraception, getting tested early,

01:46and having conversations around consent and sexual health.

01:49WA Health is also arguing.

01:59We're in the next few minutes.

02:01Now, we're talking about what we all get in,

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